By Sam Kaye
As part of peace and security initiatives to combat insurgency, the Senator representing Northern Borno, Mohammed Monguno, has trained 150 security operatives across ten council areas under his constituency.
The three-day intensive workshop focused on peacebuilding, early warning systems, and conflict resolution, targeting grassroots security actors including the Nigerian Army, Police, Civil Defence, Immigration, Civilian JTF, and vigilante groups.
Addressing the security operatives, recently in Maiduguri, Senator Monguno said the initiative was in line with Governor Babagana Zulum’s tireless efforts in restoring peace and rebuilding livelihoods in Borno State.
He emphasized the importance of community-based security structures, noting that building local capacity is critical to complementing government efforts in the fight against insurgency.
While praising Governor Zulum’s commitment in restoring peace and rebuilding affected communities, the Federal Lawmaker said the fight against insurgency requires collective action from all levels of government and citizens.
In addition to the security training, Monguno also equiped 150 women and youths with skills in soap making as part of his economic empowerment.
He noted that both security preparedness and economic empowerment are essential for stabilizing communities recovering from insurgency.
A representative of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr. Emmanuel Mamman described the initiative as timely particularly in light of recent upsurge attacks by insurgents in parts of Borno state.
Some beneficiaries from the Nigerian Army and Police commended Senator Monguno and Nigeria Institute of peace building for the training, describing it as a practical and morale-boosting step against insurgency.
At the end of the training, each of the 300 participants received financial support of N100,000, bringing the total amount disbursed to N 30 m.
Responding to reporters after the training, Senator Monguno disclosed plans to further execute projects worth over a billion naira in both his constituency and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC).
These include road network construction and perimeter fencing within the Federal Polytechnic Monguno, as well as the reconstruction of the Marte–Monguno road.
Other projects included in his projection is his line up is the construction of a town hall meeting block in Monguno town, Mega water projects in parts of Northern Borno, and the construction of lecture theatres in both Ramat Polytechnic and Borno State University (BSU).(www.krestnews.com).